Cruise Insurance, how reliable is it

[pikwe012]

We are not first time cruisers but didnt know where to post this question. We havn't taken out Insurance before but really feel we want to for our next cruise.

My question is does the Insurance really include what it says it does and pay out in the event of ilness etc. We are planning to book a Princess Cruise with a large

seller of cruises and not the crusie line (not sure I can mention the name). Is it better from Insurance purposes to book with the cruise line?

Thank you!

[Philob]

There's an entire forum dedicated to Cruise/Travel Insurance, there are several threads about your ask.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

In general, yes it is better to get third-party insurance, you get more "bang for the buck" and expert advice from an independent broker. Cruise line insurance terms tend to favor the cruise line and the rep on the other side of the phone may not know the coverage well.

 

Best to READ the policy you are planning to get, it makes the difference of whether or not you'll get paid.

[klfrodo]

Here's a few suggestions I found for Canadian residents when I asked an AI app.

 

1. Manulife Financial: Manulife offers a range of travel insurance plans with different coverage options, including emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation/interruption, and baggage loss/delay.

2. Allianz Global Assistance: Allianz is a well-known provider of travel insurance, offering comprehensive plans for Canadian residents. They provide coverage for medical emergencies, trip cancellation/interruption, baggage loss, and more.

3. Travel Guard: Travel Guard offers travel insurance options tailored to the needs of Canadian travelers. They provide coverage for emergency medical expenses, trip cancellation/interruption, baggage loss, and other travel-related incidents.

4. RSA Travel Insurance: RSA offers various travel insurance plans for Canadian residents, including emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation/interruption, and baggage loss/delay. They have options for both single trips and annual multi-trip coverage.

5. TuGo Travel Insurance: TuGo is a Canadian insurance provider that offers a range of travel insurance plans, including coverage for emergency medical expenses, trip cancellation/interruption, baggage loss, and more.

[ldubs]

I think a good first step is to think about exactly what risk it is you want to avoid.  Do you want coverage for the cost of the trip?  Do you want medical coverage while traveling internationally?  Or both?  Then it is worthwhile to look at the standard policy forms for conditions, coverage and exclusions.  

 

And yes, the insurance covers what it says.  However, you must take the time to read and understand what it says.   

 

For us personally, we buy medical coverage for international travel.   As the risk factors increased with age, we migrated to an annual travel med policy.    

 

Other than some limited benefits via our credit card, we do not insure the trip cost.  I would be unhappy losing my cruise fare but in reality, that money is already gone.   If it represented a serious financial hit, I wouldn't be taking the cruise in the first place.  

Edited May 23, 2023 by ldubs

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, pikwe012 said:

We are not first time cruisers but didnt know where to post this question. We havn't taken out Insurance before but really feel we want to for our next cruise.

My question is does the Insurance really include what it says it does and pay out in the event of ilness etc. We are planning to book a Princess Cruise with a large

seller of cruises and not the crusie line (not sure I can mention the name). Is it better from Insurance purposes to book with the cruise line?

Thank you!

We book with  a insurance company or broker

 We have had to use our  insurance on a couple of trips

We buy trip cancellation/interruption  ins  we get medical through DH retirement package

They paid up   it took a month or so 

 

When spending $$$ on a cruise  you never know when things can go sideways

Keep all your documents  until you are home   just in case

We used  RSA & T.I.P.S

 

[JDincalif]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Keep all your documents  until you are home   just in case

Agree - Thorough documentation is key to receiving appropriate insurance claim reimbursement. Even such items as boarding passes can be crucial for some types of claims.

[pikwe012]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

When spending $$$ on a cruise  you never know when things can go sideways

Keep all your documents  until you are home   just in case

We used  RSA & T.I.P.S

 

Thanks for reply. Can you name the above Insurance companies please. I am not familiar with the abbrev.

[donaldsc]

You are in Canada so my answer may not apply.  However we use an Allianz annual trip policy.  The one time that we had to file a claim they were prompt and easy to work with.  

 

DON

[LHT28]

43 minutes ago, pikwe012 said:

Thanks for reply. Can you name the above Insurance companies please. I am not familiar with the abbrev.

https://www.rsagroup.ca/

https://gowithtips.com/

I get  them through my TA

Other recommend

Manulife   as well

If you were  a city employee  check with MROO.org

[SPacificbound]

I have always bought medical and evacuation coverage when we are leaving the US, but had never bought insurance to cover the trip until this year. We had always just considered the trip costs to be something we could absorb until now.

 

For our B2B in August I fully insured through The Trip Insurance Store. Steve is so knowledgeable and helpful.

[LHT28]

Most US policies  do not cover Canadians

Be sure to ask if booking via a USA insurer

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, SPacificbound said:

 

For our B2B in August I fully insured through The Trip Insurance Store. Steve is so knowledgeable and helpful.

Yes, Steve is a good person and is very helpful. Unfortunately, he doesn't work with Canadian insurance companies. Since the OP is Canadian, Steve won't be of much help.

[pikwe012]

Thank you All for replies. The TA offered my their cruise insurance. I had better check if it applies for Canadians.  

[pikwe012]

7 hours ago, ldubs said:

I think a good first step is to think about exactly what risk it is you want to avoid.  Do you want coverage for the cost of the trip?  Do you want medical coverage while traveling internationally?  Or both?  Then it is worthwhile to look at the standard policy forms for conditions, coverage and exclusions.  

 

And yes, the insurance covers what it says.  However, you must take the time to read and understand what it says.   

 

For us personally, we buy medical coverage for international travel.   As the risk factors increased with age, we migrated to an annual travel med policy.    

 

Other than some limited benefits via our credit card, we do not insure the trip cost.  I would be unhappy losing my cruise fare but in reality, that money is already gone.   If it represented a serious financial hit, I wouldn't be taking the cruise in the first place.  

I must have missed this reply initially......sorry I didnt explain myself properly. We always take out medical insurance when leaving Canada. We havn't bought Trip Cancellation Insurance before. With our low dollar

the cruise price for three of us is quite high so was looking at buying it for this cruise . Thanks for input.

[Host Kat]

12 hours ago, pikwe012 said:

We are not first time cruisers but didnt know where to post this question. We havn't taken out Insurance before but really feel we want to for our next cruise.

My question is does the Insurance really include what it says it does and pay out in the event of ilness etc. We are planning to book a Princess Cruise with a large

seller of cruises and not the crusie line (not sure I can mention the name). Is it better from Insurance purposes to book with the cruise line?

Thank you!

 

3 hours ago, pikwe012 said:

I must have missed this reply initially......sorry I didnt explain myself properly. We always take out medical insurance when leaving Canada. We havn't bought Trip Cancellation Insurance before. With our low dollar

the cruise price for three of us is quite high so was looking at buying it for this cruise . Thanks for input.

 

@pikwe012

 

Thank you for your new topic on the Ask a Cruise Question forum! However, it is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. Your inquiry concerns Trip Cancellation Insurance and is off topic there.

 

Under normal circumstances your thread would be moved to the Cruise/Travel Insurance forum to be on topic. Since you need replies only from your fellow Canadians about Canadian insurance, I have moved your thread to the Canadian Cruisers forum.

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, pikwe012 said:

I must have missed this reply initially......sorry I didnt explain myself properly. We always take out medical insurance when leaving Canada. We havn't bought Trip Cancellation Insurance before. With our low dollar

the cruise price for three of us is quite high so was looking at buying it for this cruise . Thanks for input.

 

Make sure that the trip cancellation insurance you are buying covers cancellation for any of the three of you.  For this, you will need to buy a policy together as a group of three.

 

Let me explain:

 

Three travelling:  A, B, and C

 

Something happens that is a cancelable reason for A, and B and C decide not to go, all three are covered and the insurance covers the cost of all three.

 

Something happens that i a cancelable reason for A, but B and C decide to continue, then the insurance covers the cost of cancelation of A, but B and C can still travel.

 

You have to ensure that you have the ability of ALL getting covered if something happens to only ONE of the three of you.

 

I have seen policies that do NOT cover this way, this is why I am suggesting that you make sure.

 

Also ensure that you understand what is a cancelable reason.  Third party insurance rarely if ever offer a cancel for any reason... it will be illness, death, or other serious reason.

 

Do NOT include costs that are otherwise refundable like an airline fare where you maintain the value for a year - even if it has a change or fare increase fee.

 

Insurance will not cover the cost of any part of your fare - airfare, cruise, excursions - that can be canceled or changed without a financial loss.  Most - and I repeat - most airfares you can cancel and retain the value of the fare for at least a year.  If you include costs like this in your premium calculation they will only increase the cost of your insurance for no benefit to you.

 

For instance, we have an expensive air portion of our trip coming up and we booked the air independently of the cruise line.  This airfare has a cancel for full refund option with a cancel fee of only $200 per person.  The airfare has a cost of over $6,000.00 for the two of us.  We did not include that cost in the cost of the trip for the cancelation insurance, because it would just increase our premium but not bring us any value.  They would not pay out the cost of the air, if it can be canceled.  If you included the $200 per person cancelation cost, it might pay that, not sure, have not ever tested that.

 

Only include the non-cancelable non-refundable portions of your trip cost when calculating the premium.

 

You may already know all this....

 

 

[pikwe012]

On 5/24/2023 at 6:00 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

Make sure that the trip cancellation insurance you are buying covers cancellation for any of the three of you.  For this, you will need to buy a policy together as a group of three.

 

Let me explain:

 

Three travelling:  A, B, and C

 

Something happens that is a cancelable reason for A, and B and C decide not to go, all three are covered and the insurance covers the cost of all three.

 

Something happens that i a cancelable reason for A, but B and C decide to continue, then the insurance covers the cost of cancelation of A, but B and C can still travel.

 

You have to ensure that you have the ability of ALL getting covered if something happens to only ONE of the three of you.

 

I have seen policies that do NOT cover this way, this is why I am suggesting that you make sure.

 

Also ensure that you understand what is a cancelable reason.  Third party insurance rarely if ever offer a cancel for any reason... it will be illness, death, or other serious reason.

 

Do NOT include costs that are otherwise refundable like an airline fare where you maintain the value for a year - even if it has a change or fare increase fee.

 

Insurance will not cover the cost of any part of your fare - airfare, cruise, excursions - that can be canceled or changed without a financial loss.  Most - and I repeat - most airfares you can cancel and retain the value of the fare for at least a year.  If you include costs like this in your premium calculation they will only increase the cost of your insurance for no benefit to you.

 

For instance, we have an expensive air portion of our trip coming up and we booked the air independently of the cruise line.  This airfare has a cancel for full refund option with a cancel fee of only $200 per person.  The airfare has a cost of over $6,000.00 for the two of us.  We did not include that cost in the cost of the trip for the cancelation insurance, because it would just increase our premium but not bring us any value.  They would not pay out the cost of the air, if it can be canceled.  If you included the $200 per person cancelation cost, it might pay that, not sure, have not ever tested that.

 

Only include the non-cancelable non-refundable portions of your trip cost when calculating the premium.

 

You may already know all this....

 

 

Thanks CDN Polar ....this makes sense and I hadn't thought about this before as we do not usually take Trip Cancellation.

[pikwe012]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:09 PM, Host Kat said:

 

 

@pikwe012

 

Thank you for your new topic on the Ask a Cruise Question forum! However, it is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. Your inquiry concerns Trip Cancellation Insurance and is off topic there.

 

Under normal circumstances your thread would be moved to the Cruise/Travel Insurance forum to be on topic. Since you need replies only from your fellow Canadians about Canadian insurance, I have moved your thread to the Canadian Cruisers forum.

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

Thank you !

[blizzard44ca]

We have used Travelguard for cancellation insurance, and have been happy with the price and the coverage.  We have not had to make a claim with them, so can’t speak to that. We typically do not buy cancellation insurance now, and choose to “self-insure” (knowing that one of these days we will need to pay out!).

We have medical insurance (x2) through work, so don’t worry too much about that. If I were travelling “off the beaten path”, I would consider Med-Jet Assist for additional coverage.

[pikwe012]

Thank you blizzard44ca

     Hello to CALGARY! 

[3Shelaghs]

Trip insurance is a killer once you hit a certain age, and are required to fill out a questionnaire. 

Your medication, your age, can omit you from qualifying.

Then there is the 90 days or 160 days limit for pre-existing conditions. This includes any lab, any doctors appts, any test results you are waiting upon, any surgery, any use of nitro, chemo,  any trips to emergency..on and on and on. Advice... read the fine print... then call the carrier and speak to a human. Ask the questions.

[pikwe012]

4 hours ago, 3Shelaghs said:

Trip insurance is a killer once you hit a certain age, and are required to fill out a questionnaire. 

Your medication, your age, can omit you from qualifying.

Thanks! It was Trip Cancellation Insurance I was asking about as we have never used it. We Always take out Medical Insurance for travel. Its nerve racking answering the questions as you age and have one or two "conditions" but always tell the truth. Excellent points.

[3Shelaghs]

^^ sorry, I got lost in the medical trip insurance frenzy, still smarting from this weeks search 😞 

I've always had good luck with Visa's trip top up. You set the amount and they quote the cost.

If you pay the cruise with your CC, they will cover a certain (paltry) amount, then you top up. Have done it for years on cruises or land based vacations etc. Of course cancellation insurance needs have always been based on what's going on in our life at that time, sometimes we never bothered with cancellation insurance.

[pikwe012]

On 6/3/2023 at 1:39 PM, 3Shelaghs said:

I've always had good luck with Visa's trip top up.

I have never heard of Visa trip top up!  Have to look at that next time. Thank you.

[lx200gps]

To the OP: As you are looking at a Princess trip, have a read about their own Princess Platinum insurance. One very good benefit of that particular coverage is a no-questions-asked Cancel For Any Reason clause which gives you 100% of your non-refundable trip costs back as a Future Cruise Credit. If something should happen to you even as close as a day before departure, you can simply cancel and get everything back as an FCC. The rest of their coverage is only so-so and can be bettered by shopping around, but we always bought the Princess coverage fo their CFAR clause as extra insurance, until they stopped selling to us Quebecers a few years ago. Every other insurer out there only offers CFAR up to 70-80%, so Princess's 100% was very appealing given the cost of cruising these days.

 

As to our own experience, we use Blue Cross and have only had to use it once. Some years back, on our return into Galveston on a Princess trip, the port was utterly fogged in and we didn't disembark the ship until late in the day, missing our return flight. Blue Cross easily and quickly refunded all our out of pocket expenses such as hotel, rental car, meal per diem, etc.